NEWPORT — A building here that has been empty for about seven years is finally getting a tenant.
Builders Surplus, a national building supply company, signed a lease this week to move into the old Thriftway store at the corner of Sixth and York streets.
Owner Todd Bauer hopes to open it by April 2.
“We checked out the Northern Kentucky area and saw a lot of opportunity,” Bauer said. “The demographics are good for us, and I think the site is perfect.”
The building was vacated soon after Winn-Dixie Stores in Jacksonville, Fla., announced in 2004 that it was selling or closing all 21 Thriftway grocery stores in Greater Cincinnati.
Wiedemann Square Ltd., a local company, has owned the building since 1994. Thriftway opened there in 1995.
Despite interest over the years from nonprofit agencies, other grocery stores, flea markets and sports complexes, the 50,000-square-foot building has remained empty.
“It’s been a sore thumb,” said Newport City Manager Tom Fromme. “Building Surplus seems like a good company. We’re very excited about it.”
Bauer said the company started in Dallas about 15 years ago. Locations later opened in Atlanta and Chicago, and Bauer opened his first store in Louisville five years ago.
The company purchases overstocked building materials from national manufacturers and distributors and sells them at discounted prices. It’s most common products include kitchen and bath items (such as cabinets and counter tops), flooring and doors.
It’s also a bit of a treasure hunt in a way,” Bauer said. “There might be a $400 to $500 faucet that you won’t be able to find anywhere else that we have for $99.”
Bauer said the store will get a facelift outside before it opens. He expects to eventually employ 10 to 20 people.
Fromme said it should be a good fit for the area, which always has homes from the early 20th century under renovation.
“With our historic district six blocks away from the store and historic districts in Covington, I think it will fit in real well,” he said.
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